Saturday, December 19, 2015

The Brady Bunch (1969-1974)

I am the biggest Brady nerd. Yes they had no toilet and yes their lawn looked like a mini-golf course but many a kid wished they could live in the Brady home. Potato sack races after school, listening to one of Greg's groovy songs, topped off with Alice's meatloaf for dinner. I have a hunch life couldn't get any better. Thanks to Chas at Itsfilmedthere.com and Lindsay at Iamnotastalker.com for finding several of these locations.Location: The Brady ResidenceAddress: 11222 Dilling St, Studio City, CA2003

2016

For 5 Seasons, The Brady Bunch filmed on Stage 5 at Paramount Studios.

Location: The TreeAddress: Paramount Studios Backlot, Los Angeles, CA This tree saw a lot of action. First it was where mean Buddy Hinton torments Peter and Cindy before getting his tooth knocked loose.

And then it was the landmark for the most unBrady like thing to do - light up a butt. Mrs. Johnson needed a glass of water to wash down her foot when she wrongfully accused Greg of harboring a pack of cigs in his letterman jacket after he quit cold turkey. Turns out it was her very own son, Tommy, who was the culprit.

That Mr. Phillips sure is a groovy boss - footing the bill for all The Bradys AND their housekeeper to travel to Hawaii while Mike takes care of some business. Today you're lucky if you get five minutes to eat lunch at your desk. But it's not all pineapples and sunsets when Bobby finds a tiki idol that brings a series of unfortunate events that could fill The Grand Canyon.

The exact whereabouts when Bobby and Cindy encounter Don Ho and Sam Kapu Jr. isn't known but may have been around here:

Watch out for spiders!

Location: Puu Ualakaa State ParkAddress: 2760 Round Top Drive, Honolulu, HIDavid, the Jimmy Pocaya of Hawaii, leads The Brady's on sightseeing tour of the island. Their first stop is the scenic Puu Ualakaa State Park, which the gang has a tough time pronouncing.

Location: Iolani PalaceAddress: 364 S King Street, Honolulu, HINext up is the Iolani Palace, which is in front of the new state building:

Location: King Kamehameha StatueAddress: 417 S King Street, Honolulu, HIJust across the street from the Iolani Palace is the King Kamehameha Statue. It stands in front of Ali'iolani Hale, home of the Hawaii State Supreme Court.

Location: The Hula LessonAddress: near 2552 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HIJudging from where the Hula instructor is standing with Diamond Head in the background, when Alice's Hu went one way and her La went the other, it appears to have been shot close to the Marriott, about a quarter mile down from The Sheraton Waikiki:

Location: Greg's WipeoutAddress: Waikiki Beach, near 2552 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HIA bit further down from the hula lesson is where the surfing contest was filmed based on the rock formation. What remains of Waikiki Beach is about three feet wide and there is actually none in front of the Sheraton.

You can see The Sheraton Waikiki in the background on the right:

Greg Brady's got nothin' on me:

They paved paradise and put up hotels galore:

Season 4, Episode 2 "Pass The Tabu"Location: The Brady Boobies Meet a Red-Footed BoobyAddress: 41-202 Kalanianaole Highway, Waimanalo, HI Sea Life ParkRabbit Island can be seen just off the coast:

In the photo above you can see a white spec on the left side of the mountain. It's a lighthouse that bears a striking resemblance to the one featured in John Carpenter's The Fog (1980)

Location: Ko'olua MountainsAddress: 45-680 Luluku Road, Kaneohe, HI Ho'omaluhia Botanical GardensDavid points out the Ko'olua Mountains to the boys before giving them directions to the burial ground. The exact spot is not known but was taken somewhere in the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens.

A soundstage luau seems rather dull in comparison to The Marriott's in Ko Olina:

The tall one on the right kind of looks like Oliver, don't you think?

That concludes the location tour of The Brady's hijinks in Hawaii. I leave you with a few shots that will hopefully entice you to visit and check them out for yourself...

Location: The Golden Spoon CafeAddress: 3222 Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA The Brady kids turn on Alice? To this day I get teary-eyed when Bobby says Alice isn't their friend anymore. But I knew she'd be back since there was no place for the humorless Kay.

I attended Dixie Canyon Elementary School in the mid 1970's. At the time we were renting a house from Jerry Orbach on Bloomfield Dr.in Studio City. My brother's best friend lived on Dilling St. I had remembered watching the Ernie Meanie Mommy Daddy episode of Brady Bunch but I couldn't understand the plot of only one parent attending the play, as Dixie Canyon had 2 huge auditoriums and could accommodate parents and family members as students could bring. I used to bug my mother all of the time, asking if I could go visit the "Brady Kids". Thank you for posting all of this terrific nostalgia!